Warriors set sights on NCAA tourney

Redshirt juniors Braden Turner and Brendan McKeown, both national qualifiers a year ago, will look for return trips to the NCAA Division II Championships in early March as East Stroudsburg University begins its 2012-13 wrestling season.

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By GREG KNOWLDEN

poconorecord.com

By GREG KNOWLDEN

Posted Nov. 30, 2012 at 12:01 AM

By GREG KNOWLDEN

Posted Nov. 30, 2012 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

Redshirt juniors Braden Turner and Brendan McKeown, both national qualifiers a year ago, will look for return trips to the NCAA Division II Championships in early March as East Stroudsburg University begins its 2012-13 wrestling season.

Turner, an All-American at 157 pounds, and McKeown (174) were two of ESU's four national qualifiers last year, the Warriors' third in Division II. ESU has sent eight wrestlers to the NCAA's, with three earning All-America honors, in the last three seasons under sixth-year head coach Joey Rivera. Rivera is a 2001 Stroudsburg High School graduate.

Turner begins the season ranked No. 4 in the nation in both the NWCA and Basford rankings after placing sixth at last year's NCAA Championships. McKeown is ranked No. 3 by Basford and No. 6 by the NWCA. Both are ranked No. 2 in Super Region 1 to open the year and were the runner-ups in their respective weight classes at the regional.

Turner and McKeown lead an ESU lineup that has just three returning starters coming into the year. Redshirt senior Joe Blaes (285) is the only other veteran in the lineup to start the season, with three others — sophomore Zach Jones (133), senior Tony Vorndran (165) and redshirt junior Will Esposito (174) — coming in as backups.

The Warriors will replace two national qualifiers and several other starters as they open the year. Ed Ebewo (197) was the Super Region 1 champion and an All-American, placing third at the NCAA Championships. Thad Frick (165) was also a national qualifier as a senior and Adam Hluschak (141) was a national qualifier in 2010. Hluschak (79), Ebewo (78) and Frick (72) combined for more than 200 career wins for the Warriors.

125 — Sophomore Nick Kaiser is the only 125-pounder on the roster. The Stroudsburg native was 0-4 overall and 0-2 in duals last season, moving into the lineup against Centenary and Kutztown.

133 — Freshman Devin Holmes of Raritain, N.J. begins the season as the starter, winning a wrestle-off against Jones, who split time between 125 and 133 last season. Holmes was a member of the Group 2 state championship team and a third-place District finisher at Raritan. Jones was 8-17 overall and 6-11 in dual action a year ago.

141 — Sophomore Joseph Hoy, a transfer from North Carolina State, will be backed up by senior Tyler Wilton. Hoy was a three-time District qualifier at Governor Livingston, N.J. and had a career record of 107-34. Wilton was a starter at 149 pounds as a sophomore in 2010-11 and did not see any dual action as a junior last year.

149 — Freshman Nate Silverthorn, a two-time state placewinner at General Brown in Watertown, N.Y., won the starting spot this fall. Silverthorn was a three-time Section champion and had a career record of 179-31. The backups will be Wilton and freshman Joe Welk, who saw action on special teams as a tailback on the ESU football team. Welk was 128-34 in his career at Solanco.

157 — Turner was an All-American in his first season at the Division II level after wrestling at Rutgers as a redshirt freshman. He went 26-16 overall, including 3-3 at the NCAA Championships with all three losses coming to wrestlers ranked in the top four. He was the regional runner-up as the No. 6 seed, posting wins over the No. 3 and No. 2 seeds to reach the final. Turner was 14-8 against Division II competition and 9-4 in the regular season. Welk will be the backup.

165 — Redshirt freshman Colin Martucci is the starter and will be backed up by Vorndran and freshman Colin Casey. Martucci had 114 career wins and was a three-time District finalist at Daniel Boone.

Vorndran was the primary starter at 174 last season with McKeown sidelined due to injury, going 2-16 overall and 2-9 in dual action. Casey was Section champion at Washingtonville, N.Y. as a senior and had 146 career victories as a five-year letterwinner.

174 — McKeown missed two months of the season due to injury but returned with two weeks remaining in the regular season, ultimately finishing as the runner-up in Super Region 1 and ending up one win away from All-America status at the NCAA Championships. He was 12-8 overall and 8-5 in the regular season. As the No. 6 seed in the regional, he won his first three matches, including decisions over the No. 3 and No. 2 seeds, to advance to the NCAA's. McKeown was 18-17 as a redshirt freshman at 184 and comes into the year with a career mark of 36-28. Redshirt junior Will Esposito is the backup and was the starter at 184 last year.

184 — Redshirt sophomore Luke DeLuise, a transfer from Bloomsburg, is the Warriors' starter and opens the year ranked No. 7 in the region. DeLuise was a District 11 champion, regional runner-up and placed seventh in the state as a senior at Pius X. He was also named the Outstanding Wrestler at districts and went 9-8 with five pins as a redshirt freshman at Bloomsburg last year. Junior Frank Marinucci, a transfer from Kings College, is the backup.

197 — Freshman Tyson Searer, a three-time state qualifier at Mifflin County, earned the starting spot in the preseason. Searer was a two-time state medalist, placing seventh and third, and was also an honorable mention All-State linebacker in football.

285 — Blaes, a fifth-year senior, is in his second season as the starter. He entered the 2011-12 season as the backup at 197 but moved up due to an opening in the lineup, going 5-16 overall and 4-10 in duals. The backups are freshman Stephen English, who was 101-40 in four seasons as heavyweight at Wantagh, N.Y., and senior Demetrius Lindsey, who is in his first season in the program.